SO MUCH AWESOME happened yesterday! My gym hosted a fundraiser for the families of the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School, and I was extremely honored to be a part of it!  It was also the launch of my PaleoMeister line!!!  EEEEK!  So, I arrived very early in the morning to start slinging Paleo treats.  By the end of the day, I had sold ALL but 10 items, drank entirely too much coffee, watched some amazing folks participate in a throwdown workout, and spread my Paleo treat love to the masses 🙂  Oh, and we just happened to raise about $2,000 for an excellent cause.  No idea is ever too out there or too crazy…..in the words of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Rocky Horror reference FTW!) “Don’t dream it, BE IT!”  Saturday morning was an idea put into reality.  Here are a couple of pics of me doing my thing:

Me, getting real with my set up.  Come at me, and buy some treats!! Boom.

How cute are these gals?!?  I mean seriously!!  And look how excited they are to be enjoying my treats!  Eating Paleo makes you (and your belly) happy.  It’s a fact.

Hanging with the best salesman in all the land, baby Noah!  Fairly certain his charm and general cute factor increased sales.

See!  I told you it was crazy exciting!  I ended up selling Chocolate Chunk Cookies, “Oreo” balls, and Maple Bacon Blondies…..which I’m gonna gift to you right now!  A word of warning, these are technically Paleo, but very much a treat…..and they are absolutely FREAKING out of this world amazing!!!!

Maple Bacon Blondies

These are a 3 step process: candying the bacon, baking the brownie, and smothering it in chocolate and candied bacon.

Step 1:  Candy your bacon

• 1 lb. of thick cut uncured bacon
• 1 tablespoon Grade B Maple Syrup

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Cover a baking sheet with foil, and place a drying rack on top of the baking sheet.  Arrange the bacon slices on the drying rack and with a pastry brush, brush the bacon with maple syrup.  Bake for 30-40 minutes (this depends on the thickness of the bacon).  Start checking the bacon at about 25 minutes into baking.  Continue to check every 5 minutes until bacon is very crisp. Allow bacon to cool completely before chopping into small pieces.

Step 2: Making the Brownies

• 1 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 3/4 cup Grade B Maple Syrup
• 1/4 cup Coconut Palm Sugar
• 2 and 1/2 cups Almond Flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 package Enjoy Life mini chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Brush a 9 x 13 METAL baking pan with some melted coconut oil.  You MUST use a metal pan for these….if you use glass, they will get destroyed when trying to get them out of the pan.  Sad day.
3. In a large bowl, add melted coconut oil and coconut palm sugar.  Using a hand mixer, begin to blend together.
4. Add in the maple syrup and continue mixing together until the ingredients come together.  It may take a couple of minutes to get the oil to incorporate fully with the syrup.
5. Next, add in your eggs, vanilla, and salt.  Continue to blend until the eggs are totally mixed in.
6. Slowly add in the almond flour and baking soda, mixing it in well until the batter is smooth.  It will still be a bit soupy, and that’s ok!
7. Stir in your chocolate chips (set aside 1/4 cup of the chocolate chips to melt down for the topping later).
8. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  They will brown up.
9. Allow to cool completely.

Step 3: Assembling your masterpiece

1. When brownies have cooled completely you can begin this process, DON’T rush this!  It won’t all set up right if you start this while the brownies are still warm!
2. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of chocolate chips you set aside earlier with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.  Microwave it in 30 second increments, stirring between each zapping session until chocolate is melted.
3. Pour melted chocolate over the pan of brownies and spread into a thin layer covering the full pan.
4. Sprinkle your chopped up candied bacon over the pan of brownies.  Be generous with this, you know you want to.
5. Place the pan of brownies in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
6. When they are fully set and you are ready to cut them, run a sharp knife under very hot water before cutting….it will help you cut through the chocolate and not break it up!
7. Remove them from the pan using a spatula.  They can be finnicky to get out, and just accept the fact that they first one out of the pan might get destroyed.  It happens, no big deal.
8. These are super rich, so I would suggest cutting them into smaller brownies.  You could get 18-24 out of the pan.  If you are living large, cut it into 12 brownies and live it up!
9. STUFF YOUR FACE WITH GOODNESS!

Hope you love these!  They made people VERY happy at the event on Saturday! Sending Paleo blondie love.

-Meister